


whiskey lullaby

by grovicisms



Series: If, If, If [6]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Universe Alteration, W O W, much sad, very pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:45:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grovicisms/pseuds/grovicisms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scotty goes into the core and Jim doesn't.</p><p>Either way, Leonard McCoy is not okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	whiskey lullaby

Running through engineering—no matter the context, whether it be soaking wet and blindly following a man that had just saved you from a lifetime of blizzards or racing against the clock to save a ship that was falling out of the sky—is dangerous. It's a safety hazard, and any other time, Scotty would snap at whoever was running amuck in his department.

 

No, he lets it slide this time.

 

The entire ship is consumed in complete panic. Crewmembers are struggling to stay upright as the ship rolls and lurches, sending people soaring through the air and crashing into the wall on the other side. They were sliding about, trying to regain their balance and not fall to their deaths like so many of their colleagues, their _friends_ , have.

 

With Jim at his side, Scotty hauls ass through the Enterprise's corridors, barely able to keep his own balance as the ships tumbles again, sending him and Jim flying down the halls with more momentum than he would have liked. What he would like, on the other hand, is to get his hands on the sonovabitch that did this to the ship. He'll give him a good what for, if you just give him a chance.

 

The warp core is in sight and the ship has leveled out. At least, for now. How long that would last, no one could tell. He and Jim would have to hurry the hell up.

 

Then Jim proposes his ridiculous idea of actually venturing into the core, and Scotty looks at him as if he's lost his goddamn mind.

 

"Jim, we'd be irradiated within minutes. We'd be dead before we even started! The climb is suicide!"

 

Scotty sees Jim's shoulders tense. Something in his head tells him that _he's gonna try something. He's gonna try something stupid. You gotta stop him._

 

With Jim's back to him, Scotty utilises whatever stealth he possesses and unlocks the door without Jim's knowing. Only when the door clicks shut and Scotty is on the other side does Jim finally realise what he's done.

 

"Get the hell out of there, Scotty. _Now_."

 

But Scotty, ever the persistent one, only shakes his head. His eyes say everything even when his words cannot. I'm sorry.

 

He disappears into the core, leaving Jim behind to furiously pound at the barrier keeping him from retrieving his stupid friend's ass.

* * *

 

Of the things Scotty noticed upon entering the core, the temperature is one of them. It’s even hotter in there than he imagined, but he keeps on keeping on, pushing himself as he climbs higher and higher.

 

With every passing moment, every inch he climbs, he feels the radiation permeating his body. His movements are becoming sluggish and he finds himself fighting for air as he makes the ascent. He doesn’t stop, though. No, if he stops, they lose everything. The ship, the battle, the war.

 

Even Len.

 

Try as he might, he can’t prevent the image of his best friend from popping up in his mind. The last thing he wants is to be thinking of just how devastated Leonard will most likely be when he finds out that Scott got himself killed pulling some heroic stunt.

 

Scotty can hear Len’s voice reverberate in his skull even now. Or is that the radiation poisoning?

 

Either way, Leonard’s voice is clear as day.

 

_“You goddamn sonovabitch. What sort’a trouble ‘ve you got yourself into, now? I swear, if I ever see you in medbay in a damn bodybag, shit will hit the fan.”_

 

Instead of completely breaking down like he thinks he would, the voice only encourages him on. If he manages this, if he realigns the core and restores the power to the ship, he’ll save the crew, his—yes, _his_ —Silver Lady, and Len, too.

 

So, he perseveres.

 

Even as he gives the damn lower unit a good hard kick despite his body’s protests, he still listens to the sound of his best friend’s voice echoing all around him now, calling him an idiot and a moron, scolding him for not being careful, reminding him again of his clumsiness.

 

It gives Scott a good sense of relief and he uses up his dwindling strength to give the device another kick. Again and again: swing, kick, swing, kick harder.

 

Eventually, when Scott thinks he’s about to keel over, it moves.

 

The unit is forcibly jostled back to its desired position. The resulting energy emmitted knocks Scotty back, sending him tumbling past the wires and conduits he just scaled.

 

Mission complete.

* * *

 

Leonard's in Medbay when he gets the call. The ship is finally stabilized and he assumes it's Monty relaying the news to him.

 

It's actually from Jim, and he sounds completely exhausted.

 

"Bones. You gotta get down here. Now."

 

He has questions, sure, but he plans on saving them for later and immediately makes his way to engineering. He has a gut feeling that something is wrong, something happened and Jim needs his help for something.

 

He just hopes Monty is alright.

 

When Leonard finds Jim, there's a downcast look on his face that sets off alarms in Leonard's head.

 

"Jim—"

 

"Over there, Bones."

 

Leonard looks over Jim's shoulder and sees the hatch that leads to the core. He's confused at first, until he sees the figure lying on the floor.

 

On the wrong side of the door.

 

Jim steps out of his way, watching as his friend kneels in front of the glass barrier separating him from Scotty.

 

"Open the damn door."

 

"Bones, you know I can't do that. We'll undo the damage that Scotty fixed."

 

Leonard doesn't bother asking again; the answer won't change, and he knows it.

 

He just doesn't want to believe it.

 

"Monty."

 

The Scot struggles to pull himself up to look Leonard in the eye. “Len.”

 

“What the hell were you thinking?”

 

Scotty lets out a slight huff, giving a small shake of his head. “Was thinking that I had to save the ship. Save you.”

 

His mouth turns up in a smile. Though the effort pains him, he manages it anyway because, at this point, dying is the least of his concerns.

 

Seeing Monty smile like that only breaks Leonard’s heart even more knowing that he’ll probably never see it again in a few minutes. The thought alone is enough to bring a few tears rolling down his cheeks. His forehead comes to rest against the glass with a dull _thud._

 

“You are a goddamn moron, you know that? Goddamn stupid moron—”

 

“Len, just— _stop_ for a minute. _Please_.”

 

Leonard lets himself be cut off. He doesn’t need to do any talking. He’s sure that Monty will appreciate him just listening, just being there.

 

“I went in there knowing full well that I was going to die. I also went in there knowing that, even though death was inevitable, I would have a chance to make everything okay. I mean, it’s an engineer’s job to make sure things run smoothly, hm? Make sure the ship’s running as she’s supposed to.”

 

Scotty’s voice is showing signs of completely giving out, and Leonard tries his best not to speak, to interrupt him, because if he does, he’ll lose him completely. So he just nods along with what Monty says.

 

There’s a brief pause before the Scot speaks again. “You know I love you, right?”

 

Assuming he can respond now, Leonard does. “Yeah. I know it. God, do I know it.” His eyes soften a bit. “I do too, you know.”

 

That brings a genuine smile to Monty’s face. “I know, Len. And another thing—” He maintains eye contact with the doctor throughout, and though he’s worried about how Len will be when he does die, Scotty knows that he’ll be fine. They both will be.

 

“It was worth it.”

 

Leonard watches the light completely disappear from Scotty’s eyes, leaving no trace that they had once given those eyes so much life just minutes before. “Monty—”

 

His voice cracks. That much is certain. What happens after is all a blur, if he was being honest.

  
He remembers someone physically dragging him away from the door, and he’s almost certain that he hit that someone. He assumes Jim, as Jim was the only one there when Leonard last checked. Jim held him while he started sobbing, when he started going on and on about how he should’ve done something to prevent him from going in there, to fucking _save him._ If only—

**Author's Note:**

> AHHAHAHAHAHHAHA
> 
> excuse me while i sob


End file.
